Visited Dee and Gerben in Spring in Amsterdam. Now they are back in Mirns – a good time to come over for a week and enjoy the quiet countryside. Got another one of the less than 100€ Euro travel train tickets both ways. Early in the morning I got up and walked down to the bus station.

6:38 at the bus stop – not a nice time for me

7:13 in the train with a few croissants and coffee

7:56 in a new train – the other one broke down! After 20 minutes I can take any train not only the trains that are printed on my ticket. Great on the way back so you can catch a faster train. Does not help on the way to the Netherlands. The last train station is so small that there are only a few trains a day.

9:49 – along the Rhine river

8 seconds later

11:57 and some time to kill in Düsseldorf. It is very ugly next to the train station here. So I had a beer in the cold and walked back to catch the next train.

13:05 in the next train

14:37 and we are in the Netherlands since 4 minutes!

15:47 in the next train in Zwolle train station

Big sky with the church tower of Wirdum in the back

16:58 at Leuwarden train station

17:47 close to ‎⁨Wijtgaard⁩ in ⁨Friesland

The old part of Stavoren⁩ is build at the harbour. From the train station, you walk over the bridge and you are right in the centre. Somehow it is amazing how you can travel from a big city to nowhere with a few train rides. Still, I do not really like to ride the train. Hmmm.

View from the bridge

Walked down to the shore line to catch a view over the water

This is what I call a room with a view – if you have this room

The light towers mark the way for the ships to get to the harbour

Walked back to the city supermarket for some food. Gerben will pick me up from here.

Nice one!

2,19 € for a small bag of pimped toast bread?

There he is – Gerben with the Yellow Submarine

Close to Warns – the dike to the right

Friendly Frieslanders

Most of the road is on the dike – great views!

A nice drive that is

Sunset at the house in Mirns

Hello!

The house

Nestled in a green corner

It comes with a little shed full of garden chairs and stuff

The garden towards the water in the day

Happy Monkey

Hello horse!

Even more happy monkey

Beer o clock – waiting for the show

This chair!

Now that is what I call great cinema

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From the campground to Edam or Amsterdam takes about the same time with the bicycle. And I was so many times in Amsterdam but only one time in Edam – so it was Edam today. You pedal in the general direction until you pass a signpost with the bike routes on it. Now you find your number and follow the route along flowery meadows, ponds and ditches, bridges, a lot of cows and sheep, winding dykes, waving reeds, old and new farmhouses and an old windmill if you lucky. The land is flat and as long as you do not face wind from the front it is super easy. I decided to bike over Volendam and along the water to get to Edam and circle back against the clock to the campground.

Volendam

View from Voloendam out on the sea

Snack time in Volendam – the birds liked me all of a sudden since I had Hummus with bread. Turns out they did not really care for Hummus after all.

Kathammer Molen Windmill

This mill was built around 1650. It burned down in 1896 and was rebuild. In 1911 the blades and the roof were removed and the mill became a pumping station. In 1986 the mill was finally restored and operates again

Team green

Edam

Edam! It is not allowed to ride from Volendam to Edam on the dam – you can only walk so I had a nice view of – nothing for a while but what to do? But I can assure you – there is water on the right! Behind the dyke!

Town hall Edam – it is still in use for marriage and other ceremonies.

Townhall Edam Detail

Lots of red brick buildings and narrow paths

The Carillon Tower from 1561. Next to it is the Church of Our Dear Lady (Kleine or Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk in Dutch) or what is left of it. The first church was built around 1350 and the last one was demolished in 1882. All that is left is the small part to support the tower. When I took this picture the tower had 37 bells. Now it has 5 more!

Shells on the church’s ground

Decoration over an entrance at Lingerzijde

Entrance with window

View from a bridge towards the Oorgat

Old watergate to regulate the water level

Edam Cheese market

At the Cheesemarket in Edam. This is what Edam is known for – the Edam Cheese!

Taking the boat to town

Sometimes you have to cross a town. There are bridges all over the place and nice people who make a living open and close those bridges.

Slowly the bridge opens

Half way up

There you go

Finally open water

The next bridge awaits

St. Nicolas Church

Various stages of the construction.Grote Kerk or St. Nicholaaskerk as the church is known here was build at the beginning of the 15th Century. A few times lightning stroke the church and it burned down and was rebuilt. It is one of the largest 3 ridged churches in Europe. It is built on piles and the weight had to be kept to a minimum because the ground is not stable. The vaulted ceiling, for example, is made from wood instead of stone.

Like in other churches some people got buried right in the church

Stained glass windows

Most of the stained glass windows where donated as gifts from neighboring towns

The organ of St. Nicolas church

There was an Art Exhibition about the war in Syria

There was an old lady selling coffee in the church so I had one. Tried one of the local treats as well – quite eatable if you are hungry.After the church it was time to pedal back and wait for the guys. It was a nice week and I love to bike in Waterland. Somehow you arrive in this part of Holland and calm down in an instant. The same goes for Friesland – where I was a few weeks later.

The Train back home again

Omi's Apfelstudel – in a bottle? But it is Vegan!

A few more castles on the way home and 6 times changing of the train as well. Well well….